The present disclosure generally relates to health and nutrition. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to nutritional compositions having a high amount of protein to provide patients with an adequate amount of protein while avoiding potential complications of overfeeding. Methods of making and using the nutritional compositions are also provided.
There are many types of nutritional compositions currently on the market. Nutritional compositions can be targeted toward certain consumer types, for example, young, elderly, athletes, and also those suffering from chronic or acute conditions or illnesses, etc., based on the specific ingredients of the nutritional composition. Nutritional compositions can also be formulated based on the certain physiological conditions that the nutritional compositions are intended to manage, treat or improve.
One goal of nutritional support is to provide enough daily amounts of protein to preserve lean body mass, but to also reduce complications associated with overfeeding of enterally fed patients. For example, while modular products such as protein supplements are appropriate for some patients and serve a useful purpose, other patients may not be appropriate recipients of modular supplements due to a need to restrict total fluid volume, or fat intake, each day. Further, existing high protein formulas provide up to 25% of the energy as protein. To provide an adequate daily amount of protein, several protein modulars of this type must be administered per day. Each modular unit requires that the feeding tube be flushed clear with water, administered, and then the tube flushed again. This can cause an excessive amount of fluid to be administered to patients. Administering a plurality of modulars, which may be high in fat content, may also mean that the patient may be administered excessive amounts of fat.
As such, it would be beneficial to provide a sufficient amount of protein to a patient while avoiding any overfeeding complications that may be associated with the administration of several modulars per day.